How is the verification process?

Kickstart your verification journey by following the steps below. Have a question? Reach out to us directly. Our experts will guide you through the certification scope that aligns best with your company setup and needs.

Step 1: Application process 
The SRP CoC verification process begins when you submit an application form to us, which will help us identify the relevant scope of your audit (type, budget and duration). This information is recorded in the SRP and our database and updated based on any changes.

For multi-sites, a member list must be uploaded at the time of report finalisation each year, when changes occur. Once you have accepted our proposal, we will assign a Preferred by Nature contact person for your organisation.

Step 2: Audit preparation 
We will provide an audit plan at least five days before the on-site or desk audit, except for research audits. The objective of the audit plan is to describe all activities covered by the audit process, as well as the documents that will need to be reviewed during the audit.

Step 3: Audit execution 
A review of documentation is conducted along with on-site audit visits. The audit usually involves a visit to one or several of your company sites. The audit team shall record all non-conformities and consolidated evidence in the audit report to ensure that all CoC standard criteria are audited and to facilitate the recounting of evidence during the closing meeting.

Step 4: Audit report and review 
The report describes the audit results, and it is reviewed by a Preferred by Nature internal quality reviewer. Following completion of the review process, we will take the verification decision and register the decision in the database. SRP may stipulate shorter timelines in cases of research audits for high-risk cases.  

Step 5: Verification decision and issuing verification statement 
The verification can only be issued once the organisation has successfully passed a verification audit, or corrective verification audit (CVA) after failing a verification audit. All verification statements are valid for 36 months from the date of the verification decision.  

Chain of Custody audit scope

The SRP Chain of Custody (CoC) requirements shall apply to any organisation in the supply chain that physically handles SRP-verified rice products at a location under the control of the organisation, including outsourced contractors. 

Any company, association, factory, processing unit or other entity that applies for SRP CoC verification, shall be referred to as a participating operator (PO). The CoC cycle of SRP is three years. 

POs are divided into two categories in the context of the SRP CoC system:

• Single participating operator: An entity that administers only one production and/or processing facility but may administer one or more offices. The CoC verification statement is issued for a single PO.
• Multi-site participating operator: An entity that administers two or more sites. 

Outsourced contractors

If a PO outsources activities to independent third parties, we will conduct a risk assessment to determine whether an audit of the outsourced contractors is required. In the case where the outsourced contractor holds the SRP CoC verification, this is categorised as low risk and the outsourcing contractor audit is, therefore, not required.

Outsourced contractors that are not SRP-verified will be considered high risk if they are engaged in physically transforming products or if there is risk of uncontrolled, non-deliberate or accidental cross-contamination resulting in mixing verified and non-verified products. Outsourced contractors can be categorised as 'Single participating operator' or 'Multi-site participating operator'. 

Expansion of multi-site participating operator scope

At any time in the audit cycle and as long as the effectiveness of the audit is guaranteed, a PO may request a change to the verification scope to increase or decrease the number of sites. For a multi-site PO to increase its number of sites, this must be communicated to us, as the verification body, regarding each site it wishes to include. 

Any new facilities involved in manufacturing, packaging, or labelling must be approved by Preferred by Nature before they can be included within the scope of the SRP CoC system. This may require an on-site audit or a desk review, depending on the complexity and the risk associated with the site as a result of the PO’s risk assessment.  
Resources: 

Use these SRP standards and guides to stay up to speed and in preparing for SRP verification assessments. You can also share them with your stakeholders and employees.

SRP-verified rice

The Sustainable Rice Platform Standard and Assurance Scheme verify rice farming and handle a broad range of sustainability issues including critical areas related to greenhouse gas emission and air pollution. The aim is to increase the global supply of rice while improving the livelihoods of rice producers and reducing the environmental impact of rice production.

The standard offers a broadly agreed working definition of sustainable best practice and provides a scientific basis to offer supply chain actors a robust, cost-effective and transparent assurance scheme. It is suitable for individual farmers, smallholder farmer groups, as well as larger farms. The standard has a strong focus on ensuring relevance, practicality, and impact, especially for smallholder farmers in developing countries. 

If applied by a smallholder farmer group, the standard requires an internal management system (IMS) to support farmers in implementing the standard, measuring results, and identifying actions for continuous improvement.

Verification for farm-level rice cultivation

The SRP Standard for Sustainable Rice Cultivation is the world’s first voluntary sustainability standard used for rice production. The standard applies to all farm-level processes in rice cultivation. 

The standard is complemented by a set of 12 quantitative performance indicators used to monitor the impacts of adopting climate-smart best practices and other field interventions such as training. 

The SRP standard and indicators provide an objective ‘working definition’ of sustainability that can serve as a normative basis for monitoring and evaluation, policymaking, and a benchmark for supply chain assurance schemes.

Four benefits of choosing SRP-verified rice:

1. Build capacity. By opting SRP cultivation practices farmers can improve their adaptive capacities in rice production to better meet the growing demand for rice.
2. Enhanced livelihoods. SRP is a holistic system to meet the demand for rice sustainably. It can support smallholders and rice producers to improve their livelihoods and food security by incentivising the adoption of sustainable best practices.
3. Enhanced access to new markets and customers. Farmers will benefit from the SRP Standard and Assurance Scheme as switching to SRP practices can boost production and net incomes by 10% to 20%.
4. Doing the right thing for the environment. Smallholder farmers will benefit from exposure to sustainable farming practices and climate-smart agriculture technologies. Adopting SRP practices can reduce emissions of methane - a potent greenhouse gas - from flooded rice fields by up to 50%. 

SRP Standard on Sustainable Rice Cultivation 

The Standard applies to all farm-level processes in rice production, including postharvest processes under the farmer’s control. The Standard can be applied by individual farmers, smallholder farmer groups, as well as larger farms, and focus on ensuring relevance, practicality and impact, especially for smallholder farmers in developing countries. 

The SRP standard consists of 46 requirements structured under eight (8) themes, each aimed at achieving a specific sustainability impact. It is designed for farm-level impact at the smallholder level. Each requirement is relevant, practical, and under the farmer’s control.

SRP Chain of Custody Verification Standard

Demonstrate your support for sustainable rice farming and enter the market for responsibly produced rice. 

The SRP Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard applies to any participating operator purchasing, handling and/or trading SRP-verified rice. This includes individuals, companies or organisations which have ownership and/or control of rice – from their origin to their market availability. 

This core standard specifies requirements for all Chain of Custody-verified and applicant organisations with respect to sourcing, processing, labelling and sale of rice-based products as SRP-verified. 

The SRP CoC Standard is intended to be used in conjunction with the SRP standard, Assurance Scheme and Performance Indicators to enable market actors to make verifiable sustainability claims for rice produced using proven, climate‐smart, sustainable best practices.

All organisations in the supply chain – from farmers to the entity implementing final packaging of products carrying an SRP claim – shall be covered by the SRP CoC verification system, to be managed by an SRP-approved CoC verification body. 

As an SRP-approved CoC verification body, Preferred by Nature is currently working in most key rice-producing countries around the world, and we can provide you with the SRP CoC verification.